People like me who are not exactly computer experts might accept the idea that the tech needed to install software to get the internet connection working. Of course, as soon as I found I couldn’t change my homepage, I’d be calling comcast and telling them to shut down my account, followed by calling their competitors to set up a new account. If by chance, everyone pulled the same stunt then I’d probably eventually end up at one of the sites explaining how to fix it. I’d still be pissed at any provider who did something like that though.

P.S. Ironically, there’s an ad for Comcast at the bottom of the page as I type this! Like there’s any chance of me clicking that link now!!

It does not mimic malware behaviour. It is malware.

“Malware, short for malicious software, consists of programming (code, scripts, active content, and other software) designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, gain unauthorized access to system resources, and other abusive behavior.”

I’ve been telling my customers for the past few years that their dsl and/or cable providers absolutely do not need to install anything to make their service work. Firstly i tell them that the comcast or qwest installer can use their own laptops to activate the modems. If they do not have one with them, they can call it in by phone. In the worst case they can just remove the software when they are done.

Second, I tell them that the software is almost primarily for spying purposes, such as tracking your movements on the web. Most toolbars are for the same purpose. They watch your searches, your mouse clicks, your hovers, the types of sites you visit, all for inserting targetted ads, as well as updating their search indexes.

You know the comcast installer was lying because, if you just ask one question, you’ll know: what about systems such as your smartphone, or tablet, or linux box? Those work with comcast without installing anything.

Trash your computer and Read a book.

This is a big opportunity for you all to start getting a real life.

All those redirect searches have open your eyes.

Now get rid of the internet and start reading the Bible.

My best friend had a problem with Comcast. It wasn’t resolved, call after call. He even contacted the local corporation commission. He received a ton of “mea culpas” from Comcast, but no resolution. Same lousy, ignorant techs. No one could fix the problem. He doesn’t have the Firefox issue as he doesn’t have a Mac, and he uses Google Chrome.

He finally got so pissed off, that hr wote a long, very angry letter to the FCC, with a copy to the Town Corporation Commission, a copy to the State Corpoation Commission, a copy to his attorney, and he wrote a letter to Comcast’s main offic and included copies of all the letters he had sent.

Well some big muckety muck at Corporate must have dropped a load in his/her pants! Six days later, he received a certified letter from Comcast’s Corporate office, promising him that his problem would be resolved once and for all. They also offered him three months of free tv and internet. He was asked to contact the local office and arrange for the technicians to come out and permanently fix his problem.

To make a long story short, the problems have been fixed! Several Comcast truks want out, with level 5 techs and two tech supervisors. They re-wired the whole steet! They ran new coax to his house, replaced all the coax in his house with brand new coax. And not only my friend. Since we all live on the same street, and had similar issues, we all got rewired with all new wiring outside and insiide.

Moral of the story, do the same! Make one of the big muckks drop a load in his or her pantt!

Solution…

Very simple to change your homepage to whatever you want. Find a friend using any other internet provider. Take your computer to their location and log on to their ISP. Change your homepage to whatever you want using the tools provided in IE or any other browser. Once you have changed the homepage, the Comcast software can’t change it back unless you do another download.

There is a similar issue that can affect both Chrome and Firefox on any windows machine, thanks to comcast ISP behavior:
http://forums.comcast.com/t5/Web-Browsers/uninstalling-the-xfinity-toolbar-and-or-xfinity-search-home-page/td-p/1473109

Hope this will save a few other frustrated users some time.